ked.

"By whomever it is that has been following him. I don't attempt to
explain who they were, Mr. Santoine; for I don't know. But--whoever
they were--in doing this, he laid himself open to attack by them. They
were watching--saw him enter here. They attacked him here. Wallace
switched on the light and recognized him; so he shot Wallace and ran
with whatever he could grab up of the contents of the safe, hoping that
by luck he'd get what he was after."

"It isn't so--it isn't so!" Harriet denied.

Her father checked her; he stood an instant thoughtful. "Who is
directing the pursuit, Donald?" he asked.

Avery went out at once. The window to the south, which stood open, was
closed. The blind man turned to his daughter.

"Now, Harriet," he commanded. He put a hand out and touched Harriet's
clothing; he found she had on a heavy robe. She understood that her
father would not move till she had seen the room for him. She gazed
about again, therefore, and told him what she saw.

"There was some sort of a struggle near my safe," she said.
"Chairs--everything there is knocked about."

"Yes."

"There is also blood there--a big spot of it on the floor."

"I found that," said Santoine.

"There is blood behind the table near the middle of the room."

"Ah! A man fired from near there, too!"

"There are cartridges on the floor--"

"Cartridges?"

"Cartridge shells, I mean, empty, near both those spots of blood.
There are cartridge shells near the fireplace; but no blood there."

"Yes; the bullets?"

"There are marks everywhere--above the mantel, all about."

"Yes."

"There is a bar of iron with a bent end near the table--between it and
the window; there are two flashlights, both extinguished."

"How was the safe opened?"

"The combination has been cut completely away; there is an--an
instrument connected with the electric-light fixture which seems to
have done the cutting. There is a hand-drill, too--I think it is a
hand-drill. The inner door has been drilled through, and the catches
drawn back."

"Who is this?"

The valet, who had been sent to Eaton's room, had returned with his
report. "Mr. Eaton went from his room fully dressed, sir," he said to
Santoine, "except for his shoes. I found all his shoes in his room."

During the report, the blind man felt his daughter's grasp on his arm
become tense and relax and tighten again. Then, as though she realized
she was adding to his comprehensio